f Vance Avery hadn't known how to play the accordion, he might not have accepted the role of Pegleg in The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, now at the Ahmanson Theatre. As a preteen in Alberta, Canada, studying the instrument, he discovered the music of Black Rider's iconic composer, Tom Waits. Avery's instructor, Teddy Borowiecki, who later became k.d. lang's music director, played him Waits' records, which often feature accordions, saws, theremins, and other unusual instruments in the offbeat songs. "He made the accordion cool," says Avery. Indeed, the only thing the actor knew about The Black Rider was that it was composed by Waits, with text by legendary Beat writer William S. Burroughs, and directed by avant-garde auteur Robert Wilson. "I didn't know the production at all," notes Avery. "I knew the numbers from [Waits' 1993 album] The Black Rider. I knew they were doing a production of Tom Waits' music when I was doing Cabaret in New York, and I remember being so jealous."
The show is as strange and fantastic as one would expect from three such eclectic minds. Based loosely on the 19th-century German folktale Der Freischütz (The Free-Shooter), the story follows a clerk who makes a deal with the devil in order to marry his sweetheart. As the Faust in this bargain, Avery slinks, winks, and jack-o'-lantern grins through the play's surreal world, one that's part Jean Cocteau, part Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The actor, who grabbed Broadway's attention when he took over the Master of Ceremonies role in Cabaret after Alan Cumming, says he didn't know what he was getting into when he briefly met Wilson in New York: "We sat around for about 15 or 20 minutes, and then he jumped up and said, 'You're perfect.'" Avery then watched a video of the original German-language performance of The Black Rider, which debuted at Hamburg's Thalia Theater in 1990. "When I saw it, I understood that they literally wanted that emcee character from Cabaret to manipulate the audience."
Avery's role was previously played by rocker Marianne Faithfull in 2004, and this just added to the confusion Avery was feeling. "Coming into this production, it really wasn't quite apparent to me, because I signed on for Tom Waits," says Avery. "Then I was like, 'Wait, Marianne Faithfull?'" Working with Waits for a day during the two-week rehearsal, however, answered Avery's questions. "I really felt there was a connection," says the actor elatedly. "The first thing we talked about was what the original intention was in Germany, and it was the best thing."
But rehearsing with Wilson, who is known for his slow and precise choreography, was far more intense. "It's like he slows down the camera into its physical form in order to evoke an emotional quality. It's an extremely exaggerated form," explains Avery. "One of the actors was required to stand on one foot for, like, half an hour, just so [Wilson] could see where the [actor's] center of gravity was. Everything came from a certain point in your body, and that would be particular to the actor."
Wilson's methods also included running the show a few times without words or music. "He always begins with no text," Avery recalls. "You must go through the entire play without speaking one word…. It really forced you to express yourself physically."
The result is a visually intriguing show that is physically grueling for the actors—particularly for Avery, who sports 4-inch heels for the duration of the show. Fortunately he has a wealth of dance experience to draw from; the last time he was in L.A. was in 1984 on a dance scholarship. He also studied at Alberta Ballet and at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta, where he was first exposed to avant-garde works.
But Avery is still a Broadway kind of guy: "My musical tastes run the gamut, but my career has been in musical theatre proper…. I'm more of a song-and-dance man." He originated the role of Marius in the first U.S. and Canadian tour of Les Misérables and played principal roles in touring productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Chicago, West Side Story, and Kiss Me Kate.
When The Black Rider wraps June 11, Avery plans to hang up his heels and return to New York, where he'll work on his original songs and rejoin Broadway Inspirational Voices. The gospel group will present its annual concert at The Town Hall in NYC later this summer. Until then, he's looking forward to working with Waits again in L.A. The gruff-voiced composer called opening night to wish the cast luck and said he'll be back with more unusual instruments. Perhaps Avery will get to play the accordion with his hero after all.